For Immediate Release: March 26, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), the senior Democrat of the House Ways and Means’ Subcommittee on Trade, sent a letter to House Republican and Democratic leaders urging immediate action on legislation to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank.  The Bank supports U.S. businesses, both small and large, in the Seattle area and throughout the rest of the country by providing export assistance for American goods.  McDermott sent the letter with Congressman Sander Levin (D-MI), the senior Democrat of the entire Ways and Means Committee.

In the letter sent to the four House leaders, McDermott and Levin wrote: “In a matter of weeks, the Bank will reach its lending cap under current law and will be unable to provide additional loans, guarantees, and insurance to support American exports and jobs.  This deadline comes at a critical time, as the U.S. economic recovery is beginning to strengthen, and exports are a critical ingredient to that recovery and to job creation.”

McDermott has consistently supported the Export-Import Bank, given its importance to U.S. businesses and jobs.  In 2010 alone, the Bank supported $34 billion worth of U.S. exports and 227,000 U.S. jobs at more than 3,300 U.S. companies.  In the Seattle area alone, the Bank has supported the exports of companies like Boeing, Nucor Steel, and Brooks Rand Labs in recent months.


Full text of the letter follows (a PDF of the letter is available here):

March 26, 2012

Dear Speaker Boehner, Leader Pelosi, Leader Cantor and Whip Hoyer:

We write to urge you to bring to the House floor, as soon as possible, a strong Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank reauthorization bill -- with at least a four-year reauthorization and an increase in the exposure limit of at least $60 billion. 

As you know, the Export-Import Bank of the United States helps finance exports of American goods and services, with the objective of contributing to the employment of U.S. workers, primarily in circumstances where alternative financing is not available.  The Bank is self-sustaining, with a net appropriation expected to be $0. 

In a matter of weeks, the Bank will reach its lending cap under current law and will be unable to provide additional loans, guarantees, and insurance to support American exports and jobs.  This deadline comes at a critical time, as the U.S. economic recovery is beginning to strengthen, and exports are a critical ingredient to that recovery and to job creation.

American businesses of all sizes rely upon the Bank’s export financing.  More than 85 percent of the Bank’s work is for small business.  The Bank set a record in FY 2011 with $6 billion in financing and insurance for small businesses – and it has set a target of $9 billion for those businesses by 2015. 

Ex-Im Bank financing is needed now more than ever before.  Many of our trading partners have dramatically increased their export financing programs over the past several years.  As a result, according to Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg, the Bank is “clearly outgunned when it comes to foreign [export credit] competition.”  For example, from 2006 through 2010, China issued over $203 billion in new medium- and long-term export credit financing, an amount four times the amount invested by the United States in absolute dollars, and ten times more as a share of GDP.[1]  And Germany, France, and India all provided at least seven times more export assistance as a share of GDP than the United States did in 2010.[2]

In light of this extremely competitive environment, and the critical role that U.S. exports play in our ongoing economic recovery, we believe the legislation that comes to the House floor should include at least a four-year reauthorization and an increase in the exposure limit of at least $60 billion per year.  We also support efforts to determine whether there is a better methodology for calculating the economic impact of the provision of financing by the Bank, provided that the methodology does not disclose proprietary business information.

We appreciate your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Congressman Sander Levin (D-MI)

--------------------------------------------------------------

[1]   Stephen Ezell, “Understanding the Importance of Export Credit Financing to U.S. Competitiveness,” The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, June 2011.<span style="style" new="New" roman","="roman","" ,""=",""" ""="""">